Wind farm BoP

Author: Francesco Miceli

  • WTG earthing system

    A wind farm earthing system is designed for two different functions: to protect human beings and the components in case of power systems fault, and to protect them in case of a lightning hitting the structure. Wind turbines have a considerably high possibility of being struck by a lightning during their lifetime. For this reason…

  • Tensar Triax geogrid use in wind farms

    Here you have a real world example of geogrid use. We are in a wind farm in southern Spain, and thanks to previous experience with this technology the client decided to use a Tensar Triax geogrid TX160. This is a triangular geogrid (the “old school” version was square). It seems that the triangular geometry guarantee…

  • Nooteboom special trailers PDF and AutoCAD blocks

    Royal Nooteboom Trailers is a Dutch company dedicated to special transport: flatbed trailers, low loaders and other amazing wind related vehicles. They have developed several solutions for the transport of nacelles, tower sections and blades. Among their products, the MEGA wind mill transporter (for towers and nacelles) and the several families of blades trailers. Nooteboom…

  • AutoTURN special transport simulation: pros and cons

    Working in Vestas at dozen of wind farms worldwide I’ve had the opportunity to use frequently AutoTURN to simulate bends and other complicated maneuvers (for instance in towns or near existing structures) with special transports (mainly wind blades and tower section trailers). Although it is not cheap (the price was almost 1800 € plus VAT:…

  • Wind blades train transport

    Wind blades are normally carried by ship and truck. By the way every now and than I see cases of train transportation: for instance Siemens moved 141 set of wind turbine blades (for the amazing total of 423 blades) to Portland General Electric’s Biglow Canyon Wind Farm. Siemens is also transporting towers and nacelles via…

  • Maximum wind farm internal road gradient

    This is another standard problem I found in the wind farm I’m working with: mountainous areas, with difficult access and very strong inclination. The standard maximum slope imposed by several manufacturers (for instance Repower and Gamesa) for safe transport on gravel roads is about 6% to 7%. Above 7% other technical solution may be necessary,…

  • Peck’s Cone (Cono de Peck)

    Every month I have the opportunity to read several geotechnical survey made for wind farms all around the world. There are enormous differences between countries, not only in the formal presentation but also in the type of tests used, that often depends on tradition and historical reasons. For instance reading a geotechnical study made in…

  • WTG Components: an introduction

    Blades: Most wind turbines have three blades, though there are some with two blades and even with a single blade. Blades are generally 30 to 50 meters (100 to 165 feet) long, with the most common sizes around 40 meters (130 feet). Longer blades are being designed and tested, but the main problem with bigger…

  • Economics of an onshore wind farm

    The total cost of a wind farm is made of the sum of the following expenditures, in this chronological order: Feasibility study, including wind analysis, preliminary layout, environmental studies, economical models and so on. Technical/Juridical costs associated with the start up: power purchase agreement, legal permits, right of way with the landowners, etc. Engineering: civil…

  • Anchor Cage assembly

    Here you have several picture of an anchor cage we assembled a few days ago. The anchor cage is a system conceived to transfer the loads to the foundation more effectively, anchoring the tower to the foundation. It is made of two ring-shaped steel plates, an anchor plate and a load distribution plate, secured by…